Entries are sought for Scottish Beach Awards
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Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is urging community groups, local authorities and landowners to enter the annual Scottish Beach Awards.
Revamped to celebrate Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters 2020, the awards recognise the best beaches across the country and act as a benchmark for local environmental quality along the country’s coastline.
The awards now provide the opportunity to celebrate sites that are not designated bathing beaches.
Katie Murray, community and place manager at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “This award is the only accreditation for beach management of its kind in Scotland. It recognises our fabulous beaches and aims to drive up environmental standards along the coastline of our country for residents and visitors alike.
“I would encourage communities, organisations and local authorities from all across Scotland to enter, and make sure that we can celebrate their hard work in providing beach users with beautiful beaches – free of litter, boasting clean facilities and displaying information to help users make informed choices.”
For a beach to be successful in achieving a beach award it must meet a range of criteria, including beach safety, access and facilities, and cleanliness. The full criteria can be found here.
Focusing on local environmental quality, the award is designed to complement the work undertaken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on bathing water quality.
It has been almost 30 years since Keep Scotland Beautiful began giving awards to Scottish beaches, and last year 61 received the accolade. Applications can be made by local authorities, community groups or other agencies and a beach award brings with it a wealth of benefits, including the official accreditation, promotional materials and dedicated support from the Keep Scotland Beautiful team. To enter visit www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/beach
